Prosecutors in the Netherlands began examining a complaint filed by European and Palestinian human rights organizations several months ago against the global reservations website Booking.com.
The Dutch organization SOMO, which is managing the lawsuits, said in a statement that it and the other organizations accuse Booking.com, which is based in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, of hosting rental sites for places built on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The organization revealed that the research it conducted on the site showed that it offered up to 70 accommodation options in real estate in East Jerusalem and the West Bank from 2021 until last year.
Booking.com had withdrawn in 2022 from classifying the Israeli settlements in the West Bank as occupied areas, in a move that Israel considered a victory for itself. The site yielded to Israeli pressure and chose to refer to the settlements as conflict zones, where about half a million Israelis live in illegal settlements. In the West Bank.
Booking.com said at the time that it would publish warnings to its customers searching for accommodation in Palestinian towns or Israeli settlements as part of a new policy regarding safe places, calling on its customers to check with their governments to make a wise decision regarding residence in these places.
The repercussions of settlement on the Palestinian economy
Israeli settlement is considered one of the most prominent problems facing the Palestinian economy. Through its settlement policy, the occupation has sought to strip the Palestinians of their lands, water, and various natural resources.